CHENEY, Wash. — In front of 2000-plus elementary and middle school kids, Eastern Washington women's basketball delivered a season-defining win. Eastern trailed by double digits in the fourth quarter, but rallied to tie the game at the buzzer and force overtime. EWU then put on an offensive clinic in the overtime period to complete the comeback win. The Eagles are now 3-6 in the Big Sky and 7-14 overall.
"We always talk about execution down the stretch. At the end of regulation and into overtime; it felt like we really executed offensively," head coach Joddie Gleason explained. "We made the right reads and passed the ball to the players we wanted to set up. We were patient and aggressive at the same time. Up and down the lineup, everyone made plays when we needed them to. Scoring 16 points [in overtime] was a big deal."
The scoring was a complete team effort, with five players in double figures. Peyton Howard scored 17, while Alexis Pettis delivered with 15. Eastern's freshman forwards, Jaecy Eggers and Kourtney Grossman each scored 14 points.
"We were super excited. We've been working hard to try and close out games all year. Going into OT is another struggle as it is. So to close the game out like that, it was fun to go into the locker room and celebrate," Howard described. "I was seeing their ball screen defense well soI told our 4s and 5s to screen-and-roll and they would be open. I was trying to get other people going early when I noticed we were stalling. I tried to find people on dump-offs and threes to get the offense going."
EWU carried a 46.3 shooting percentage for the game and was 7-of-18(38.9%) from three-point range.
The Eagles started the game strong, opening with a 5-0 run, getting jumpers from Eggers and Howard. ISU responded with a 7-0 burst to take the lead, before a quick Eastern score tied the game at 5:41. The teams went back-and-forth, with neither leading by more than one possession. Grossman drained a three with 11 seconds left to put EWU up 15-14, but the Bengals scored a layup at the buzzer to take back the lead. Eastern trailed 16-15 after shooting 42.9 percent in the opening quarter.
In the second quarter, the Bengals put together a run to give them some separation, leading 23-17 at the 7:49 mark. Pettis helped cut down the ISU lead, scoring five points in the quarter, connecting on a jumper and converting one-of-two free throws. The lead was reduced to 32-29 at halftime, with EWU shooting 45.5 percent in the quarter.
Beginning the third, Eastern jumped ahead, 36-32 with scores from Howard and Pettis. The Bengals quickly retook the lead at 6:14, 38-36. ISU then put together a 15-2 stretch to go up by nine at 47-38 and 2:59 remaining in the quarter. The Eagles stabilized the run, but continued to trail. After three, EWU was down 52-42, shooting 33.3 percent from the floor in the third.
ISU extended its lead to as much as 12 early in the fourth quarter, looking to put Eastern away. The rest of the quarter was all Eastern, as they organized a 16-4 stretch tie the game at 58 with 2:04 on the clock. Eggers was the engine behind the run, scoring 9 points through jumpers and at the free throw line. The Bengals went up by two right after, but Howard tied the game again with a pair free throws. After a made layup by ISU, Ella Gallatin came up clutch with a driving layup as time expired. The game went to overtime tied at 62. EWU had a 50 percent shooting mark in the quarter.
"It's a play we usually run and we had some different counters that we saw during the game to take advantage of an opening," Gleason described of Gallatin's game-tying shot. "We tried getting her the ball on the left hand on the left side. She's really good on the play and we run it for her all year. I'm really happy for her that she stepped up and made that play."
Now into overtime, the teams battled to begin the five-minute period, with Eastern making three layups early to hold a small lead. With the Eagles leading by one and 51 seconds remaining at overtime, Grossman hit a three to build some breathing room. EWU converted its free throws down the stretch to secure the comeback win, 78-71. The Eagles had their best shooting performance in overtime, finishing with a 62.5 percentage.
Eag Notes
- Kourtney Grossman posted her sixth consecutive double double, finishing with a game-high 11 rebounds. She has 8 double doubles in the last 10 games and 9 total this season.
- Eastern posted its best free throw shooting game this season, finishing with a 91.3 percentage. They had a season-best 21 makes and tied a season-best with 23 attempts.
- The matchup featured 10 lead changes and 8 ties. EWU led for 10:29 minutes during the game.
- Peyton Howard recorded her 17 game this season scoring in double figures, while Alexis Pettis posted her 7th game this season. Grossman earned her 13 game scoring double figures, with Ella Gallatin and Jaecy Eggers had their 10th.
- Grossman notched her 10th double digit rebounding game.
- Eastern recorded 5 blocks, with Bella Hays leading the team with 2.
- Eastern forced 16 turnovers and scored 20 points off of them. They committed 17 turnovers, with the Bengals scoring 19 points.
Up Next
Eastern Washington stays at home and hosts Weber State on Saturday, with tipoff at 2 p.m. Pacific Time.
Single game tickets for women's basketball are now on sale. Reserve your seats at Reese Court by clicking on the link here, emailing tickets@ewu.edu or calling the ticket office at 509-359-6059.
Join the Eagle Athletic Fund for as low as $50 per year! Support Eagle student-athletes on and off the field while enjoying exclusive EAF perks such as season ticket and tailgating priority, invitations to special events, exclusive access and more. Visit goeags.com/eaf for more information.
ABOUT EASTERN WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS
Eastern Washington University Athletics sponsors 14 intercollegiate sports, six for men and eight for women, both as learning opportunities for its most athletically talented students and as an enhancement to student and community life. Eastern is affiliated with Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and is a member of the Big Sky Conference, an association of 10 regional schools with comparable enrollments and academic goals.
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